Apple has long wanted to make a switch from the traditional LCD IPS display technology utilized on iOS devices to Sharp’s cutting-edge IGZO technology.

Unfortunately, Apple’s been unable to offer an IGZO iPhone because the struggling Japanese giant had been facing tremendous technical hurdles preventing mass production of these sophisticated panels.

According to the latest supply chain chatter, Sharp has now successfully commercialized production of IGZO panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant Number 2 before the end of 2013…

The somewhat reliable DigiTimes reported this past Friday that the Kameyama Plant Number 2 will use 8G glass substrate technology for the smartphone-sized IGZO panels.

This is the same plant where Sharp’s been building large LCD TV panels.

Using 8G glass substrates, Sharp will be the first company in the world to achieve commercial production of high-definition LCD panels for smartphones, the company said.

The highly efficient production levels achievable with 8G glass substrates will be made possible by an optimized production process as well as by IGZO technology’s ability to enable smaller thin-film transistors and increased light transmittance.

It was designed to replace the standard amorphous silicon material used for the active layer in thin-film transistors.

An IGZO iPhone 6 would be a very big deal.

Firstly, Sharp’s panel draws only one-tenth of energy required to power the traditional LCD display. Secondly, other benefits of IGZO tech include ultra high-resolutions and unmatched clarity – up to four times that of conventional full-HD or 1080p LCDs.

And lastly, IGZO claims a high performance touch response the iPhones are famous for and only uses extra power when the user touches the screen. In the meantime, Apple may want to update its website graphics saying “only the iPhone has Retina display”.

There’s nothing factually wrong with the statement unless you consider ‘Retina’ in Apple’s marketing parlance really is just a measure of pixel density (326ppi on the iPhone). The problem is, full HD 1080p (1,920-by-1,080 pixel resolution) smartphone screens are now pretty much the norm on high-end Android devices.